Coen Brothers Talk ‘Fargo’ and the Possibility of Moving into Television

Ethan and Joel Coen feel “divorced” from the possibility of moving into television one day. In recent years several major Hollywood directors, such as Jane Eyre helmer Cary Fukunaga, have bypassed film projects, opting to direct television series instead.

The Coen Brothers, are unlikely to follow in this trend, noting although they are happy the television show based off their 1996 feature Fargo is a success, the small screen format does not appeal to them.

“We’re perfectly happy with it, we have no problem with it, it just feels divorced from our film somehow,” Joel told U.K. publication the Radio Times after being asked to share his thoughts on the eponymous TV adaptation of Fargo. “Here’s the thing. We work short. Our longest movie is two hours two minutes (2007’s No Country for Old Men). So six hours, or 56 hours, episode after episode, it’s just not how we think about stories. I mean, after two hours with a character we feel we’re pretty much done with them.”

Ethan agrees with his brother Joel’s view on the issue wholeheartedly.

“Would it be interesting to do something like that at some point?” Ethan mused before declaring: “I don’t even know where you’d start, frankly.”

The Academy Award-winning siblings seem to be just fine focusing solely on making movies, as their films have received nearly 20 major accolades over the years. In addition to winning an Oscar for Fargo and No Country for Old Men, the pair were the recipients of the coveted Palme d’Or trophy at the Cannes Film Festival for their 1991 release Barton Fink.

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